Tomorrow, 18 May the museums and galleries in Bulgaria are going to work during the night and in this way these cultural institutions are going to participate in the European night of the museums.
For the first time the European night of the museums was organised in 2005 after the idea of the French Ministry of Culture and it took only a couple of years for this initiative to spread around many towns and cities in Europe. The general idea and the aim of this event is to bring bigger awareness of the public role and the impact of the museums in today’s society.
For the first time Bulgaria also started its traditions in participating in this European cultural event taking part from the very beginning in the first edition of the European night and museums.
This year’s edition of the European Night of the Museums also coincides with International Museum Day, celebrated for the first time back in 1978. Another maybe historical coincidence when mentioning 18 May is that exactly on the same date in 1905 the National Archaeological Institute with Museum in Sofia opened its doors. Since that time until nowadays the Archaeological museum is in the premises of the former Buyuk mosque (the big mosque) and you could find it just across the building of the President’s offices in the centre of Sofia.
In Bulgaria during the European night of museums, in the evening of 18 May 2024 more than 60 museums and galleries will be opened in Sofia, Plovdiv, Veliko Tarnovo, Varna, Bourgas, Ruse, Stara Zagora, Pernik, Blagoevgrad and many other towns in the country. Further on this date the entrance to the museums and galleries is going to be free of charge. Across all Europe more than 3000 museums will participate in the event.
If in Sofia you could check the program of the European night and museum of the Bulgarian capital with the list of the galleries and the museums plus their locations and program you could find on the website of the French culture institute here.
Along with the museums and the galleries exhibitions there will also be concerts and other cultural events and programs as part of the concept of the European night of the museums.
What a nice way to explore the historical, the culture and the art heritage of a certain country and Europe in general. In the night the atmosphere is definitely something completely different in comparison while exploring the museums and galleries during the day.